Page 44 - Australian Defence Magazine May 2022

44 DEFENCE IN THE NORTH
MAY 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
THE REGIONAL SUBMARINE THREAT
The Australian continent, and particularly the nation’s northern approaches are increasingly threatened by the proliferation of nuclear-powered submarines in the region.
MIKE YEO | MELBOURNE
THE biggest news in the Australian defence world in the past few months has been the decision to dump the convention- ally-powered Attack-class submarine program and to go with an as-yet undecided nuclear-powered attack boat as part of the AUKUS alliance.
However, one phrase that has carried over from the At- tack-class program is that the program will deliver a ‘re- gionally superior’ submarine.
The term is of course vague and non-specific, however debating the exact definition of ‘regionally superior’ is not the aim of this article. Instead, it is to look at the best sub- marines currently operated by navies in the Indo-Pacific region, to get a sense of what Australia’s future submarines are required to be ‘superior’ to.
Potential adversaries in the region are obviously China,
and probably to a lesser extent, Russia. Both navies main- tain a strong fleet of submarines facing the Pacific of various classes and classifications, ranging from conven- tionally-powered diesel-electric attack submarines to nu- clear-powered cruise – and ballistic missile boats.
THE STRATEGIC SITUATION
Australia is unlikely to face a direct threat from adversary diesel-electric attack submarines, as they would face the same range/endurance limitations that prompted Defence’s switch to nuclear-powered boats.
ABOVE: Russian Navy Borei-class SSBN Vladimir Monomokah in the Pacific Ocean
RUSSIAN MOD